The Yard Sale Paperback Book Hunt

As a child, I hated rummaging. I remember my parents tossing us in the car and heading out for hours. Most times I sat in the car because I didn’t want to go. I either napped or read a book, which was much more interesting.

Now I’m (much) older, and I’m still not in love with rummage sales. However, every year my town has a city-wide rummage. It’s not huge considering others I have been to, but tons of houses participate. Each year I attend looking for one thing – paperback books.

Yes, I’m a Kindle owner and a Kindle lover. When I go on vacation, though, I love to bring paperback books. And when it comes to paperback books at rummages, well, you can’t find better deals than 25 cents or 5 for $1!

So, this past weekend I headed out. I headed to the bank to get some cash, and then if you know me at all, I get crabby when I’m hungry, so it was off for some breakfast.

Veggie Eggs Benedict from a local diner.
Veggie Eggs Benedict from a local diner.

After eating, we headed off to our first rummage, we meaning me, my mom and a kidlet. We did pretty good at the first rummage.

rummage1
The fuzzy thing is a Halloween bucket!

We didn’t find any books, which I find more and more difficult to do every year. With so many people owning e-readers, the only books I tend to find are children’s books. Before we hit the next rummage, we stopped off for a half-hour session at the playground.

Rummage sale signs were everywhere, but in the area we were in, the slow drive-by the driveways showed mostly baby items such as strollers and clothes. We headed back toward my subdivision because I knew there were quite a few rummages there.

As we drove in, we noticed a free item. It caught my eye so I had to take a picture. I didn’t take the doghouse though!

Free to a wife in need of one for her husband.
Free to a wife in need of one for her husband.

The first rummages we went to after I snapped this picture were misses. Some of the things people sell are odd to me. It’s like a grab bag in a landfill, honestly. But, I did manage to find this for $3 at one of the sales:

Imaginex Batcave
Imaginex Batcave

After putting the Batcave in the car, we decided it was getting late and I still had to go to Target and Kohl’s for some stuff. Disappointed in my loss of paperback book finds, we turned the corner and I thought all was lost.

Then I saw it.

Boxes and boxes of books!

We parked and I raced up the driveway. With only a glance, I saw the boxes were filled with the same color spine, and I knew right away they were a series. I was slightly disappointed, but then I saw a few that were not part of this series the homeowner’s were selling. My mom and I picked out a few (we share books) and we were done!

Four books & a fun plaque for my kitchen!
Four books & a fun plaque for my kitchen!

Overall, rummaging was a success. Maybe I’ll hit up a few more this summer. We keep saying we should have our own rummage, but honestly I see how much work goes into these, and then I’m confined to the garage the whole day. We’ll see.

What did you do this weekend? Do you like to rummage?

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